Tab applying machine



Sept. 16, 1958 R. TAUBER TAB APPLYING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 3. 1956 INVENTOR.

HUDULPH TA U555 7 M A UEJVEY Sept. 16, 1958 Filed May 3. 1956 R. TAUBER TAB APPLYING MACHINE h 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

EUDULPH TA UEEB ATTUBNEY l l l United States Patent TAB APPLYING MACHINE Rudolf Tauber, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application May 3, 1956, Serial N 0. 582,445

7 Claims. (Cl. 93-1) This invention relates to a machine for applying plastic tabs to the edges of sheets of paper and the like.

In the preparation of certain index sheets, books and paper dividers, it is often necessary to reinforce or protect the indicating or reference tabs by means of a cover of plastic material. Previously known devices for applying such tabs have been slow and expensive in operation, requiring extensive handling on the part of the operator.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tab-applying machine which shall be almost completely automatic in its operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a tab forming machine which will fold and apply. the tab beginning with a flat strip of plastic material and ending with a sealed tab on the edge of the paper.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a high-speed tab applying machine.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a tab applying machine which will lend itself to great flexibility in size, location and shape of the applied tab.

A feature of the present invention is its high-speed tab forming throat.

Another feature of the present invention is its tab feeding mechanism whereby the tabs are placed in position for sealing.

A further feature of the present invention is its tab applying'and sealing section wherein the tab is applied to the paper in the presence of heat and pressure.

The invention consists of the construction, combination and arrangement of parts, as herein illustrated, described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, is illustrated one form of embodiment of the present invention, in which:

Figure l is a view in front elevation of a complete embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the tab applying machine shown in Figure l, with certain portions cut away.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view of the tab applying and sealing portion, in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary isometric view of the tab folded and sealed according to the present invention.

Figure 5 illustrates a tab made in accordance with the present invention and trimmed to index shape.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly Figures 1 and 2, indicates a table or base support having secured at the left thereof a tab forming and feeding section 11. A tab applying and sealing section 12 is carried upon the top of the table 10. The tab forming and feeding section 11 is supported upon a horizontally extending leaf 13 which is secured to the table 10. A laterally extending arm 25 is carried at the end of the leaf 13 and supports thereon a mandrel 14. The mandrel 14 is adapted to carry a roll of plastic material 15 from which the tabs are formed. The plastic material 15 is preferably a ribbon of acetate coated on one face with a thermo-sensitive lacquer.- An unwinding or drag roller 16 is attached to the mandrel 14. The roller 16 is spaced from the mandrel 14, as indicated in Figures 1 and 2. The roll of plastic 15 is led from the mandrel 14 around the drag roller 16 in the direction of a folding throat 17. The folding throat 17 consists of a plate 18 and a folding shoe 19.

Both the plate 18 and the shoe 19 are supported by the leaf 13. The folding throat, best shown in Figure l, bends the plastic into the V-shape, illustrated in Figure 3, which is necessary to enable it to embrace the edge of the paper to be tabbed. The operation of the folding throat 17 is aided by the action of a heater 20 which is mounted behind the folding throat 17, for the purpose of softening the plastic passing through the folding station.

After the plastic 15 leaves the folding throat 17, it is led into a pair of feed rollers 21 which advance it through the machine. The feed rollers 21 are driven by a motor 22 which is mounted beneath the leaf 13. The motor 22 is connected by means of a drive 26 to a train of gears 23 located at the back of the rollers 21. The train of gears 23 operates to drive the feed rollers 21 through a rack and pinion with overrunning clutch (not shown), located at the front of the machine. A cover plate 24 overlies the rack and pinion structure and protects the operator of the machine. By means of the rack and pinion and overrunning clutch, the feed rollers 21 give an intermittent motion to the tab material passing therethrough.

As the plastic tab material leaves the rollers 21 it is cut into suitable lengths by a tab cutter 27 consisting of a knife 28 and a die 29. The die 29 underlies the knife and co-operates to provide a radius or other configuration at each end of the tab 34.

A tab feed belt 30 extends across the front of the table 10 from a point just below the discharge end of the tab cutter 27, almost to the outer edge 35 of a feed table 36. The upper surface of the feed belt 30 extends slightly below and in front of the inner edge 37 of the feed table 36. Motion is imparted to the feed belt 30 by means of the motor 38 and drive belt 39. The feed belt 30 is supported at each end by pulleys 40.

The tab 34, after being severed from the tape 15, comes to rest upon the belt 38. As shown in Figure 3, the belt 30 then carries the tab across the front of the machine until it strikes a stop 33. The stop 33 is slidably carried by a rod 41 which is supported by blocks 42 at each side of the pair of feed rollers 43. In addition to carrying the stop 33, the rod 41 slidably supports the upper foil of the tab 347 The tab 34 is thus maintained in its partially folded state ready to receive the paper 44 or other article to be tabbed.

The feed belt 30 moves continuousliy. After the tab 34 reaches the stop 33 the belt 30 continues to slide beneath the tab 34 without disturbing the tabs position.

The feed table 36 is carried upon the front of the machine in a manner which brings its work surface on a plane with the space between the feed rollers 43. A side gage 45 is adjustably secured to the table 36 by the bracket 46. The side gage co-operates with the tab stop 33 to locate each tab at the desired place upon the edge ofthe papers 44 which are fed into the machine.

Referring to the drawing, and particularly Figures 2 and 3, it will be seen that as the paper 44 is fed across the feed table 36 toward the machine, its edge will pick up the tab 34, which tab will embrace the edge of the paper at the point of meeting. Further motion of the sheet of paper 44 will bring it into contact with the feed rollers 43 of the sealing section 12 of the machine. The feed rollers 43 are coldand are adapted to rotate so as to compress the tab therebetween and direct the tab Patented Sept. 16, 1958 3 and the paper 44 into the sealing section of the machine. The sealing section of the machine consists of paired rollers 47 which are driven by gears secured to one end of each roller, as indicated at 48. The sealing rollers 47 are heated by strip heaters 49 Which'are disposed above and below the rollers 47. As the paper 44 and tab 34 move through the rollers, the heat from the rollers effects a thermal seal between the tab and the paper 44.

The upper set of sealing rollers 47 is urged toward the lower set by means of individual spring-loaded pressure device 50, best shown in Figure 2. The pressure upon the material passing between the rollers 47 may be regulated by means of the spring loading device 50 so as to provide a uniform seal and positive drive through the machine.

The sealing roller gears 48 are driven by means of the motor 51 shown in Figure 1; When the tab 34 and paper 44 emerge from the sealing rollers 47, they are firmly secured together, as illustrated in Figure 4. The assembly is fed on to a conveyor belt 52 which serves to lead the finished product away from the machine. While the paper has been shown as fed by hand into the sealing portion of the machine, it is within the purview of the present invention to perform this operation automatically and mechanically by means of well known paper handling devices.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that there has been provided a substantially automatic tab forming and applying machine wherein the tab is automatically lo cated and thereafter secured to the sheet of paper or other material to be tabbed. After the tab has been applied in the above-described manner, the sheet of paper 44- may be cut in the manner indicated in Figure to present an upstanding tab portion for index purposes. Alternately, the tab may be allowed to remain as in Figure 4, to lend protection and handling interest to a page.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. A machine for applying a foil embracing tab to the edges of sheet material comprising, a support table, a tab forming section secured to one side of said table, said forming section consisting of holding means for a continuous strip of tab material, a folding throat to receive and bend the said material, a knife to sever the tab material into desired lengths, and power means to move the tab material through the forming section and operate the knife, a continuously traveling tab feeding belt disposed in parallel alignment with the front edge of the table and extending from a point directly below the cutoff end of the knife to a point spaced from the opposite side of the support table, a source of rotary power connected to said belt, an elongated rod carried by the table above the feed belt and parallel thereto, a tab stop member carried by the rod, a feed table secured to but spaced from the front of the support table on a plane slightly above the feed belt, and a tab sealing section upon the support table, said sealing section consisting of a plurality of spaced paired rollers and means for rotating the said pairs of rollers to drive the tab and sheet material therebetween and away from the feed table.

2. A machine for applying a foil embracing tab to the edges of sheet material comprising, a support table, a tab forming section secured to one side of said table, said forming section consisting of holding means for a continuous strip of tab material, a folding throat to receive and bend the said material, a heater carried by the table adjacent the folding throat, a knife to sever the tab material into desired lengths, and power means to move the tab material through the forming section and operate the knife, a continuously traveling tab feeding belt disposed in parallel alignment with the front edge of the table and extending from a point directly below the cutoff end of the knife to a point spaced from the opposite 4 side of the support table, a source of rotary power connected to said belt, an elongated rod carried by the table above the feed belt and parallel thereto, a tab stop member carried by the rod, a feed table secured to but spaced from the front of the support table on a plane slightly above the feed belt, and a tab sealing section upon the support table, said sealing section consisting of a plurality of spaced paired rollers and means for rotating the said pairs of rollers to compress the heated tab about the foil of sheet material and drive the tab and sheet material therebetween and away from the feed table.

3. A machine for applying a foil embracing tab to the edges of sheet material comprising, a support table, a tab forming section secured to one side of said table, said forming section consisting of holding means for a continuous strip of tab material, a folding throat to receive and bend the said material, a knife to sever the tab material into desired lengths, and power means and drive means to move the tab material intermittently through the forming section and operate the knife, a continuously traveling tab feeding belt disposed in parallel alignment with the front edge of the table and extending from a point directly below the cut-off end of the knife to a point spaced from the opposite side of the support table, a source of rotary power connected to said belt, an elongated rod carried by the table above the feed belt and parallel thereto, a tab stop member carried by the rod, a feed table secured to but spaced from the front of the support table on a plane slightly above the feed belt, and a tab sealing section upon the support table, said sealing section consisting of a plurality of spaced paired rollers and means for rotating the said pairs of rollers to drive the tab and sheet material therebetween and away from the feed table.

4. A machine for applying a foil embracing tab to the edges of sheet material comprising, a support table, a tab forming section secured to one side of said table, said forming section consisting of holding means for a continuous strip of tab material, a folding throat to receive and bend the said material, a knife to sever the tab material into desired lengths, and power means to move the tab material through the forming section and operate the knife, a continuously traveling endless tab feeding belt disposed in parallel alignment with the front edge of the table and extending from a point directly below the cut-off end of the knife to a point spaced from the opposite side of the support table, a source of rotary power connected to said belt, an elongated rod carried by the table above the feed belt and parallel thereto, a tab stop member slidably carried by the rod, a feed table secured to but spaced from the front of the support table on a plane slightly above the feed belt, and a tab sealing section upon the support table, said sealing section consisting of a plurality of spaced paired rollers and means for rotating the said pairs of rollers to drive the tab and sheet material therebetween and away from the feed table.

5. A machine for applying a foil embracing tab to the edges of sheet material comprising, a support table, a tab forming section secured to one side of said table, said forming section consisting of holding means for a continuous strip of tab material, a folding throat to receive and bend the said material, a knife to sever the tab material into desired lengths, and power means to move the tab material through the forming section and operate the knife, a continuously traveling tab feeding belt disposed in parallel alignment with the front edge of the table and extending from a point directly below the cutoff end of the knife to a point spaced from the opposite side of the support table, a source of rotary power connected to said belt, an elongated rod carried by the table above the feed belt and parallel thereto, a tab stop member carried by the rod, a feed table secured to but spaced from the front of the support table on a plane slightly above the feed belt, and a tab sealing section upon the support table, said sealing section consisting of a pair 5 of spaced feed rollers, a plurality of spaced paired sealing rollers and means for rotating the said pairs of rollers to drive the tab and sheet material therebetween and away from the feed table.

6. A machine for applying a foil embracing tab to the edges of sheet material comprising, a support table, a tab forming section secured to one side of said table, said forming section consisting of holding means for a continuous strip of tab material, a folding throat to receive and bend the said material, a knife to sever the tab ma terial into desired lengths, and power means to move the tab material through the forming section and operate the knife, a continuously traveling tab feeding belt disposed in parallel alignment with the front edge of the table and extending from a point directly below the cut-off end of the knife to a point spaced from the opposite side of the support table, a source of rotary power connected to said belt, an elongated rod carried by the table above the feed belt and parallel thereto, a tab stop member carried asmsa by the rod, a feed table secured to but spaced from the front of the support table on a plane slightly above the feed belt, and a tab sealing section upon the support table, said sealing section consisting of a pair of spaced feed rollers, a plurality of spaced paired sealing rollers, a plurality of strip heaters disposed above and below the sealing rollers and means for rotating the said pairs of rollers to drive the tab and sheet material therebetween and away from the feed table.

7. A machine according to claim 5, in which the sealing rollers are individually spring-loaded at each end thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,090,348 Sigafoos Mar. 17, 1914 1,211,082 Case Jan. 2, 1917 1,929,137 Cassegrain Oct. 3, 1933 2,242,799 Moore May 20, 1941 

